- FairPrice Foundation donates S$40,000 to Yayasan MENDAKI, with a goal to offer academic support to children from low-income families
- $27,600 worth of FairPrice and Kopitiam vouchers, along with snacks and daily essentials raised through FairPrice Group’s 50th-anniversary staff fundraiser, to be distributed at two community Buka Puasa events
- FairPrice Group commemorates Ramadan by providing meals to the underprivileged at two community Buka Puasa events
Singapore, 3 April 2024 – To commemorate and give back to the community this Hari Raya, FairPrice Group (FPG) announced on 2 April 2024 a $40,000 donation to Yayasan MENDAKI (MENDAKI) through its philanthropic arm FairPrice Foundation (FPF). The donation will go towards supporting the education and lifelong learning goals of underprivileged individuals in the Malay community. This donation will be in addition to $27,600 worth of care packs funded by the donations raised during the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2023.
In collaboration with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Focus Area 4 (FA4)1, FPG also organised a Buka Puasa event – the fast-breaking evening meal taken by Muslims during Ramadan – on 2 April for beneficiaries from the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU), M³ (Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), MENDAKI and MESRA) and M³ Focus Area 4’s (FA4) Taskforce.
Vipul Chawla, Group CEO of FairPrice Group, and Jean Khong, General Manager of FairPrice Foundation, presented a cheque for the $40,000 donation to Zuraidah Abdullah, CEO, MENDAKI. The presentation was witnessed by Fahmi Aliman, Mayor of South East Community Development Council and Chairman of the M³ Focus Area 4’s (FA4) Taskforce, and Ng Chee Meng, NTUC Secretary-General (SG). Over the past decade, FPF has contributed over $500,000 to Yayasan MENDAKI in support of its beneficiaries.
Following the presentation, attendees broke their fast after a prayer led by Mohammad Hannan Hassan, Deputy Mufti of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.
NTUC SG Ng Chee Meng said, “NTUC and FairPrice Group are happy to leverage our collective strength to support initiatives to support our workers. We hope our efforts will bring some joy for our Muslim brothers and sisters during Ramadan. We’ll do our best to be alongside our workers to manage the cost of living.”
The session also marked the initial distribution of community care packs from FPG’s 50th-anniversary staff donation drive, ‘FPG Foodprints’, which raised a total of $27,600 to provide daily essentials for the needy. Each attendee received a care pack containing daily essentials such as pineapple tarts, dates, chicken curry paste, and $200 worth of FairPrice and Kopitiam vouchers, to assist with their food expenses.
Vipul Chawla, Group CEO of FairPrice Group, said, “We understand the importance of Ramadan to the Muslim community, and are grateful for the opportunity to support those in need during this period of reflection. Through initiatives like FairPrice Foundation’s donation to MENDAKI and our Buka Puasa events, we hope to continue uplifting the vulnerable among us, and give all in Singapore a reason to come together in the spirit of communal bonding.”
Zuraidah Abdullah, CEO, MENDAKI, highlighted, “FairPrice is one of Yayasan MENDAKI’s long-standing corporate partners that have contributed generously to the community. We are grateful that FairPrice shares MENDAKI’s mission in helping to uplift families through education and signalling that support through this meaningful donation. We are heartened that about 200 beneficiaries would benefit this year. FairPrice has been contributing this annual donation since 2014 and I would like to thank them for their generosity. We hope more would come forward to partner MENDAKI to help students pursue their studies and dreams.”
On 4 April 2024, FPG will host a second buka puasa event at Selarang Halfway House in partnership with Singapore Prisons Service and Bapa Sepanjang Hayat. This event will provide ex-offenders with an opportunity to reconnect with their family during Ramadan. FPG also has other festive activities planned for the Hari Raya period, including two block parties at Bedok North and Bukit Batok on 20 April 2024.
1 FA4 refers to the Focus Area 4, a community-based strategy between three community institutions – Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), MENDAKI and MESRA that seeks to uplift the Malay-Muslim community. One of the key areas of FA4 is the Employment and Employability arm, where they support the community through close partnerships with NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and NTUC LearningHub.